Barn Swallows are very common, even in the urban areas of Oklahoma City. I see them in large numbers around Lake Hefner, my daily birding escape, but I don’t pay enough attention to them. I realized this after finding a Barn Swallow on a nest this spring and learning that I had never taken a “nest shot” of this species. My bad for taking them for granted!
So, here is a nest shot which I think is fairly typical of a Barn Swallow nest in Oklahoma (notice the red clay construction). This one was located under the eave of a building.
 Barn Swallow at the nest I do wish I had been able to capture images of young birds from this nesting but it just didn’t work out. I did get to see a pair of fledgling Barn Swallows at another area of the lake. So, here is a shot of what young fledglings look like, yellow mouths making them distinctive and easier to determine the age.
 Barn Swallow fledglings (hungry) And if the yellow mouths and begging didn’t confirm that these two were newly fledged, the in-flight feeding by one of the parents confirmed that these two were not yet old enough to fend for themselves.
 Barn Swallow fledglings being fed by a parent Is that incredible delivery or what?!! In order to photograph the actual feeding I’ve learned to focus the camera on the youngsters and, when their begging sounds more urgent, start snapping photos even though I don’t see the parent. This feeding maneuver is so quick (feeding only one fledgling per trip) that it is impossible for me to capture the picture if I wait until I see the adult.
 This photo was taken June 22, 2010 just a few hours after this young bird left the nest box. I don’t think I’d be able to ID this fledgling, especially from this angle, unless I paid attention to the tail feathers. Could you?
I’ve been spending time during the past few weeks monitoring two Baltimore Oriole and one Eastern Kingbird nests at Lake Hefner while my OkieBirdCam friend Terri Underhill has been keeping up with the great bird activity on her wooded yard. She called yesterday with news that the “babies are fledging” and with pictures and videos. I couldn’t resist the opportunity to see the baby birds. And, seriously! once I saw them I couldn’t believe how unidentifiable I found them.
These young birds are the size of a small sparrow while their parents are about the size of a Northern Cardinal. The baby birds I’ve seen (admittedly not that many) are usually about 80% adult size when they leave the nest, e.g., Mockingbirds, Robins, Eastern Bluebirds…
The tail feathers are rufous — that’s the best clue; plus the belly is yellow. It lacks the white wingbars of the parents. Okay, I’m sure many wouldn’t be as stumped by this as I would be ! Yes, it is a Great-crested Flycatcher.
This species is the only eastern flycatcher that is a cavity nester. Its breeding range encompasses the eastern half of the North America from Florida into Canada. Oklahoma is the western edge of its summer range making it a bird that
 Great-crested Flycatcher fledgling showing yellow belly, rufous tail and crest. the state’s western neighbors find rare. Terri had a pair successfully nest in a hole in tree two years ago. Last year the nesting, in the same hole, was unsuccessful — she thinks due to intense heat and sun. So this year she put up a nest box near the nest hole and the Great-crested Flycatcher adults found it to their liking and started home-building duties.
The Cornell Lab’s All About Birds page on Great-crested Flycatchers says that this bird’s nests often include snakeskin. Terri will be able to examine the nest box later and find out what nesting material was used.
Terri had seen two baby birds do a belly flop out of the nest box onto the ground — by the time I arrived, she was convinced a third bird had fledged and set out to find it. This second photo shows the little one in a Blue Spruce below the box.
 Great Horned Owl chick Since Great Horned Owls start nesting in January — one of (if not the) first nesting birds of the year — the winter doldrums are helped when I can find a nest to watch and photograph. My OkieBirdCam friend, Terri Underhill, is always looking for nests and usually has much better luck than I do. And this year she found a great one — across the street from her home in Edmond.
A pair of Great Horned Owls had nesting in an abandoned Mississippi Kite nest, high in a pine tree. Oklahoma isn’t known for having many pine trees so it was interesting to see two baby owls swaying in the prairie winds from high in the pine. When Terri and her grandchildren found the nest in late February, there were already 2 very small chicks. When I first had the opportunity to see the nest, the babies were getting pretty large and were taking up what little room there was in the nest.
In late March a winter storm came through and what little nest the birds had was gone… and the two young owls were nest-less and sitting in the pine tree during some strong Oklahoma winds. Homeless owls! But with monster feet that can really grip!
Within days, Terri discovered only one of the young ones was left and the not-so-little owl was wonderful to watch as he posed quite patiently while I took photos in early April.
Great news from Terri this week — when the remaining young owl disappeared, she searched through her neighborhood and found both of the young ones in a much more suitable cottonwood tree a few acres from the pine tree. Although they’re growing and are getting flight feathers, they won’t fly for several months. This means they moved location on foot, most probably under the direction of their parents.
Can you believe that when people think of Oklahoma, they often think it’s the armpit of the country… or at least close to that?!!#$ (It doesn’t help that the state’s two senators are… well, who they are!)
But when birders around the country think of Oklahoma, they have a much more favorable impression — because we have several birds that are hard to find elsewhere. In the summer, we count on showing visiting birders the Scissor-tailed Flycatcher (state bird), Mississippi Kite and the very rare Black-capped Vireo (more on this bird in upcoming posts).
 Harris's Sparrow Since we’re almost through with winter, I wanted to show off a bird that is often “top of the wish list” for visiting winter birders: the Harris’s Sparrow. What’s great is that these sparrows are plentiful in winter, easy to find, and visit backyard feeders. The Harris’s is the largest North American sparrow and is quite stunning!
The other winter birds that Oklahoma is known for? Well… how about the Lesser and Greater Prairie-Chickens; all four Longspur species — especially Smith’s, and the beautiful Harlan’s and Krider’s morphs of Red-tailed Hawks.
Not bad, huh?
Loons and gulls… those are what keep me sane during the winter season. Lake Hefner, one of the Oklahoma City municipal reservoirs, is only a few miles from my house and a great place for birding. During the winter we often get ~6 Common Loons and — really exciting for me — Thayer’s, Herring, Glaucous and Lesser Black-backed Gulls (in addition to the Ring-billed Gulls).
I have spent many, many winter afternoons driving around the lake looking for the gulls and loons to photograph. This year, however, the loons left during our bad winter weather in late December and the “special” gulls have been very difficult to find.
 Yellow-billed Loon, 06 Feb 2010 I was so excited then to be at the lake late Saturday afternoon, just before sunset, and find a Yellow-billed Loon. This is a rarity for Oklahoma.
I saw my first Yellow-billed Loon last winter and experienced birders told me it was a once-in-10-years sighting. So, a repeat sighting this year when there are no other loons around was completely unexpected!
 Yellow-billed Loon, 23 Jan 2009 Notice the neck on the loon I photographed this year and compare it with the loon from 2009. What’s with the plummage on the neck? Both birds are immatures and the white, clean neck is typical plummage. This year’s bird has considerable darkening and even a really dark patch. I’d very much like to hear from people more familiar with Yellow-billed Loons and learn about this variation.
Anyone know what’s with the neck?!
 Dark-eyed Junco aka "Snow Bird" This little bird is often called the Snow Bird because it is reported to come to southern climates ahead of the winter snows. I’ve had an abundance of them at my feeders this winter and this week’s ice, sleet and snow storms created a perfect landscape to showcase it’s reputation. These birds are very adept at scratching through snow to find seed and this little guy is barely visible from its spot inside one of my footprints in the snow.
The bird is now known as the Dark-eyed Junco. But during the late 18th and early 19th centuries when John James Audubon was describing and painting the birds of North America, it really was called the Common Snow-Bird. I’m not yet sure when or why the name was changed (I’ll do some research) but many birds’ names from centuries past were changed in the last century to more closely match the same (or similar) species in Europe.
The Dark-eyed Juncos are found across the county in different races, based on plummage or location. This very snowy little bird is a slate-colored Dark-eyed Junco. I’m excited to have several Oregon race juncos in my yard this year — a rare bird for me to see. I’ve been busy taking pictures of the birds in the snow and will add an Oregon one later to compare the plummage.
 Trumpeter Swans (with Mallard) It is always exciting when swans decide to winter in Oklahoma. Birders on the OKBirds listserv keep everyone aware of swan sightings and the birds sometimes find Oklahoma ponds a welcome place to spend at least part of the winter months. Tundra Swans are the most rare of the swan species to visit the state and I haven’t yet had my first sighting. I’ve photographed Trumpeter Swans only twice: once at the Great Salt Plains and the other on a farm pond near Lawton.
This winter, I am fortunate that a group of 8 Trumpeter Swans was spotted on a housing developing lake in Norman, Oklahoma during the Cleveland County Christmas Bird Count. A Christmas blizzard and other weather woes kept me from checking them out until last weekend. They’re only 30 miles away so I was happy that: 1) the small lake was free of ice and 2) the swans were still there.
These birds were very cooperative and swam right up to the shoreline. It didn’t hurt that the wind was strong and cold and where I was standing was sheltered! I had a great time watching and photographing the swans — one of which is an immature (first time I’ve seen a juvie).
There is a Mute Swan on a local lake. It is not considered a wild bird although it flies quite well. This species of swan is what is commonly found at parks and small city ponds. I put two “head shots” in the photo below: an adult Trumpeter and an adult Mute Swan. They are distinguished by the head/bill… their bodies are very similar when seen on the water.
 Trumpeter Swan (left), Mute Swan (right)
 Snow Geese, Canada Geese What is a frozen lake good for? Well, when the record-setting cold came through this month (low of 6; high of 18) for several days, Lake Hefner froze almost completely. The lake is my favorite, close to home birding spot and I’m there at least 5 days a week looking for birds to photograph.
Frigid temps don’t make for easy birding but a frozen lake?! How was I going to find the loons and ducks? Wow! What a wonderful surprise when I found that Canada Geese seem to really like standing on a frozen lake. And while I was watching and photographing a flock of >400 Canadas, a magnificent flock of Snow Geese dropped down to join them! I’m still going through the other photos I took to see if I can ID any Ross’s Geese in the flock.
I grabbed this pic while they were still landing. Such a beautiful sight — plus the sound of all the geese was like mother nature’s chorus. Seriously!
It isn’t often that I get to see Snow Geese so my joy was magnified by their numbers. And I got to see all of this because the lake was frozen…
It’s very unusual for hummingbirds to hang around during winters in Oklahoma. Typically the Ruby-throated or Black-chinned Hummingbirds (the ones most frequently seen in the state) leave by late September. On occasion, a hummer will show up at feeders well past the time to migrate. And on these rare occasions, the hummer is sometimes a rarity.
 Rufuous Hummingbird, female That’s the great good-fortune my friend Terri has had this year. A Rufous Hummingbird showed up at her Edmond, Oklahoma home in October and has remained even through a record-setting blizzard.
There is a hope that at some point, one of these Rufous Hummingbirds that over-winter in Oklahoma will turn out to be the rare Allen’s Hummingbird. The two species are very difficult to differentiate and it often requires capturing the bird.
In hopes of either confirming the ID as a Rufous or documenting a state record Allen’s, Dr. Chris Butler from the University of Central Oklahoma first attempted to capture and band Terri’s hummingbird in early October. The bird would not cooperate and a second — successful — attempt occurred December 23, 2009. Terri and Chris collaborated on the banding and Terri produced a wonderful video of the process. (Terri has several excellent videos of the bird at the feeder on YouTube)
Dr. Butler initially described the bird while “in hand” as a hatch year male Allen’s Hummingbird. However, input from other banding experts and feedback from the Oklahoma Birds Records Committee indicate the bird is a female Rufous. Terri had been calling the bird “Rusty” so the gender change called for a new moniker: Rosy.
I enjoyed getting to photograph the hummingbird at Terri’s home on November 6th and hope to get more photos this winter. This week Terri spotted a second hummingbird — we’re all still hoping for that elusive state-record Allen’s!
 Mountai Bluebird, female On 2009′s Thanksgiving Day I spent the afternoon at the Wichita Mountains Nat’l Wildlife Refuge near Lawton, Oklahoma. It’s my favorite place in Oklahoma for day trips because the scenery is stunning even when the birding might not be.
It was a beautiful clear day and, as I had hoped, most people were at home doing traditional Thanksgiving dinner so I had almost 60,000 acres to myself! The bird activity wasn’t spectacular but I found a flock of about 30 Mountain Bluebirds that gave me a memorable photography experience.
The bluebirds were active in a juniper and feeding on the blue seed/berries. They were so intent on feeding that I was able to get close enough for detail shots of their plummage. Almost all of the birds were females so I didn’t have the opportunity to get shots of the stunning blue of the males. But this was the closest — and best photos — I’ve gotten of Mountain Bluebirds.
These bluebirds are slightly larger than our resident Eastern Bluebirds and are seen only during winter in western Oklahoma when the food supply or weather in New Mexico and Colorado doesn’t meet their needs.
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